The Apple Watch Is Taking Notes From Whoop With This New Readiness Feature

Apple's 2026 "Surprise and Shine" event has come and gone, and along with announcing the Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4, Cupertino also unveiled a brand-new Apple Watch Health Sensing System. This means that, along with a refreshed Health app arriving later in 2026 that promises to provide "intelligent and actionable insights," users will also get better heart rate variability (HRV) measurements and a new readiness score. However, those familiar with Whoop bands may already know that last item.

If you're not familiar, a readiness score can go by many names ("daily readiness," "recovery score," etc.), and several companies' electronics modeled around fitness have adopted this metric. Essentially, a readiness score uses algorithms and your health metrics to determine how well your body can handle stress on a given day. The higher the score, the more likely you are to be prepared for daily tasks and challenges. Fitbit Premium subscribers got access to a similar feature back in 2021 (though it's no longer exclusive), but fitness tech company Whoop helped popularize it.

Nonetheless, Apple's new readiness score will rank users on a 0-10 scale, and the Apple Watch will then provide "actionable" recommendations. Readiness will update throughout the day and pull additional details from other apps, for those who use their Apple Watch for fitness or just want a sense of their health metrics throughout the day. However, iOS 27 may be doing away with the need for an Apple Watch for fitness tracking, anyway.

Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 users can access Apple's new readiness score. The score will be based on a user's "recent activity, vitals, and sleep score," and the Watch will even recommend how prepared a user is for the day. Suggestions include Recover, Pace Yourself, Read, and Go For It, suggesting how much activity a user is ready for throughout their day.

The readiness score also provides more detail behind the score, and physicians and scientists at the company developed the algorithm alongside the Apple Heart and Movement Study. If a user had an especially intense workout that day, the score will reflect it, but other factors such as vitals and sleep score will also be taken into consideration. This comes alongside a redesigned health app with new Insights and Longevity tabs, plus a new Health Sensing System in these devices that better tracks heart rate and heart rate variability.

Naturally, Apple isn't the only player in the readiness-score game. Whoop bands, for example, provide a Recovery score to inform users of their stress levels (and have done so since 2015), while Oura Rings also feature a Readiness score. Most modern Fitbit devices can provide one, too. Suffice to say, users have options if they want this metric, but it's worth mentioning that one app already gave Apple Watch users Whoop-like capabilities.